


Homestuck Troll Gender Explanation Headcanon

by inklesspen



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Essays, Meta, Troll Anatomy, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-13
Updated: 2013-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-20 22:56:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17031528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inklesspen/pseuds/inklesspen
Summary: Some notes on Homestuck troll gender, originally published on Tumblr.





	Homestuck Troll Gender Explanation Headcanon

## Homestuck Troll Gender Explanation Headcanon (now with extra body trauma)

I came up with this idea while in the shower. Clearly this means it is awesome.

Homestuck fanon likes to assume that trolls of both gender have the same genitals. I’m not sure how this fanon came about, but I find it cool. Homestuck canon shows that trolls have at least two [instars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instar), and that troll reproduction involves [two](https://www.homestuck.com/story/2097) [different](https://www.homestuck.com/story/2396) participants besides those who contribute genetic material.

The solution is obvious.

Way back in troll evolution, before they were a sentient species, they had a third instar which is the true adult form. This instar has two different morphs, the mothergrub and the drone. Which morph any given troll could grow up to be is determined by conditions during egg incubation, such as temperature, environmental acidity, etc.

Now that trolls are an intelligent and technological species, the vast majority will never reach this third instar; they’re trapped in [neoteny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoteny), like the axolotls. However, under the right hormonal circumstances, a troll might undergo that last metamorphosis. (The matriorb Kanaya harvested from her mom? That’s used to induce the right hormonal circumstances.)

Troll gender is based solely on which morph you would become (a fact which is likely discernible via pheromones). “Male” trolls are those who would become mothergrubs (this neatly explains both why jadeblood auxiliatrices tended to be female — you don’t want your assistant staff turning into unneeded mothergrubs — and why Rufioh’s mutation would manifest as wings) while “female” trolls would become drones (and Honorable Tyrannies). This does cause a confusion of pronouns, but I view that as a benefit rather than a drawback.

In this model, the third-instar mothergrub isn’t a major contributor to the new generation’s genetics; if the mothergrub contributes at all, it’s an analogue to mitochondrial DNA, which in humans is passed down from mother to mother. Likewise, third-instar drones are sterile, which is why they can be repurposed to gather the genetic material of second-instar trolls.

What this implies for any post-SBURB troll population, I leave to your imagination.

**Author's Note:**

> [Original link](https://inklesspen.tumblr.com/post/69950952894/homestuck-troll-gender-explanation-headcanon-now)


End file.
